GDA- I do not know what hotel your relatives stayed in, but I have used 4 different hotels on my various visits over the past year and have not been charged anything extra for taxes or fees. This is all included in the room price.

No, neither have I - all you have to do is front up and give them your passport to register. No hidden surprises.

Oh my... then they were fooled or something was wrong. I'm going to ask them which hotel was the one they stayed in. They really had a bad time at first because of the "100% tax" they didn't knew how to speak in russian and tried to comunicate in english but no one in the hotel spoke it, luckily the Hotel manager knew a little of french and so my aunt. At the end they arrived into an arrangement because they had no idea they had to paid that tax.

Okay, here's the story: my uncle made a reservation in the Astoria hotel in Saint Petersburg (2 rooms for $300 the day) a total of $600, but when he arrived he was told that he must pay not only $600 but aprox. $300 more over the price for each room (taxes) that’ll make a total of $1200. They discussed like an hour with the manager because they didn’t know they had to pay $600 more in taxes. (they had made the reservation just for $600 not for $1200!) At the end, my uncle and aunt were told that the hotel couldn’t make any changes on the price because that was the way it had been established, on the other hand the manager of the hotel told them he could make an upgrade of the room: they were give instead of 2 rooms of $600 each one including the “surprise tax” the most important suite in the hotel. My uncle told me that there was a plaque with all the names of the most important personalities that had stayed in that suite, one of them was Winston Churchill... well that's another story...Well the thing is that they were taken by surprise by these taxes, but of course this was overcome by the cool suite.

Something is wrong with that story. I stayed at the Astoria last week and paid about the same price per night $300]. NO EXTRA taxes or fees were given to me at all. When did this occur ? Everyone at the hotel spoke English. It is part of a luxury chain of hotels and they have a fine reputation for service and accomodation.

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Robert_Hall »

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Yes, father told me the Astoria was part of an british chain of hotels. I thought it was strange when uncle told him that no one spoke english. (he also mentions another hotel, the Kempinski...) I'll make him tell me the facts clearly.

You didn't pay nothing extra? humm... then I can't understand why they had to pay that sum.Is there any reason that might allow hotels to charge you with extra taxes or make you pay something extra?

The only "extra" charges would be for things such as room service, mini-bar [heafty !!] restaurant [VERY hefty !!], internet, etc.I have not stayed at the Kempinski yet, but it would be no different I am sure.

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Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, might as well dance..

This happened 3 years ago. Tell me Did you pre-pay the whole $300? Your room was a single one? because, maybe, when you said you paid $300 for the night....the price was $150 (for the single room) and they charged you with $150 more "taxes" (do this happened to you?) My uncle says he pre-payed $300 for each room (both were double) when he did the reservations and later when he arrived to the hotel he had to pay $300 more for each one.

After reading this I checked with our travel guild for our trip this coming fall about any additional fees IE taxes and such that I would have to pay a pone our arrival according to them the room fees are what they are. In other words the fees are 300+ per night no other fees taxes and such are induced into the flat fee of the room per night. Just like it is here in boston. Also I was assured that the hotel personal at the front desk is well diverse in English. not that Russian is a problem.

I'm going to St. Petersburg for 10 days next month. The hotel costs are taken care of already. I have no clue as to how much money I should take for food and extras (like all the books I plan on buying in the museums and palaces!). Should I exclusively use a credit card? Cash? Combination? I'm hoping that someone from the forum can give me some advice.

Rubles cannot be purchased outside of Russia. Once you reach your hotel then avail yourself of the ATM and take out a few thousand rubles (usually upto 10,000 R) to see you through a few days at a time. Hotel ATM's offer more cash out than ATM's on the street (some only permitted 500 R).

Your expenditure will depend upon your personal preferences and how well you speak Russian.

CC's are readily used in most stores and restaurants (except supermarkets and small food "produkti" stores). Most museums deal with cash transactions only for entry.

For the Hermitage I pre-purchased an online 2 day ticket through the Hermitage website. It permits entry to 4 museums and direct immediate entry, eliminating waiting in the horrendously long queues and steering clear from tourist groups who have a separate entrance. The combined pass also covers photographic costs at each venue and works out more cost effective.

I spent 4 weeks in Russia and have only just returned. I used a combination of cash and CC. I strongly advise that you alert your bank before departure of the dates you will be in Russia, to prevent unexpected closure of your accounts, if large regular sums are to be withdrawn inside Russia, and including bending the plastic more often than is customary.

I just want to add that every time you use a credit card, you must present your passport as id. They will not accept any other form of id nor will they let you use the card without presenting your passport (at least in my experience) so be sure to have your passport with you at all times if you plan on using your plastic often!

Thank you for that information, that's realy handy. I have my mother's VISA when I go abroad, so I won't be able to use it there. I'll have to apply for my own VISA but I don't know if I'll receive when since I'm a student without a vast income. :/

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Thank you for that information, that's realy handy. I have my mother's VISA when I go abroad, so I won't be able to use it there. I'll have to apply for my own VISA but I don't know if I'll receive when since I'm a student without a vast income. :/

Students can easily get credit cards, since they are banking on your future - as opposed to current - income, so you should it give it a shot!